Shadow Master
by Sliver King
Summary: Shikamaru is the Kyubi child. Who knows how this will turn out. Rated for later lemons and graphic combat scenes. Please R&R compliments and constructive flames only please. No purposeless reviews.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Okay my first Naruto fic and I hope that everyone likes it. If you read it and it seems too familiar, like someone already wrote it and posted it please just drop me a review and tell me which story it was so that I can try and head in a different direction. Please just don't report me without warning because then I get pissed because I have no idea what I did wrong. Any who on wit da story and PLEASE R&R I beg you. My other fic has 54 hits and only 1 review so I am having trouble deciding where to take it.

PS. I don't own Naruto or any other copyrighted material and never will…until I take over the world (insert mad genius laugh here)

**Shadow Master**

In the village of Konoha there lived a boy. A boy which everyone hated, for a reason that was beyond his control. Because of a mandate that the Third Hokage implemented the children know nothing of why he is treated so cruelly. All they know is that their parents treat him like trash so they feel that they should to. The reason for this hatred was that the child had the Kyubi sealed into his body. The Kyubi was a terrible Demon of unimaginable power that killed many people including all of the Nara clan except for the container of the Kyubi, the infant Nara Shikamaru. Shikamaru's father sacrificed himself to save the village by sealing the demon in his son. He hoped that Shikamaru would be viewed as a hero to the people for giving his body to contain the vile demon. He was wrong. Shikamaru grew to be like most Naras. He was extremely lazy, but extremely intelligent. No one could beat him in chess, no one. He grew and went to the ninja academy where he was met with glares and snide comments. At first he didn't care because making friends with people that hated him was too troublesome, but isolation like that only leads to depression. He would often listen to music or simply stare at the clouds watching them go by without a care in the world except for why everyone hates him. The only thing that took his mind truly off of the hate was training. Despite being lazy Shikamaru would train constantly hoping to get strong enough so that the village could see him as a person rather than a pile of flesh that happened to look human. The Third took a liking to him, for no person should have to go through what he was going through now. Knowing that training took his mind off of the hatred, he helped him by teaching him the classic Nara clan techniques. These techniques often included the making and manipulation of shadows. The Third was surprised to see how fast he learned the techniques and how much chakra he possessed. The Third was still worried however. The young Nara slipped deeper and deeper into depression until one day he lost his temper. A group of chuunins were walking by on there way home from a bar when the saw Shikamaru. He was on his way to go training even though it was nearing ten at night. The men, in their drunken stupor, decided to pick on the little Nara. After all, what could he do to them; he wasn't even a genin yet.

"Hey shrimp," called the first chuunin as he started making his way toward the Nara.

"Shit," he mumbled under his breath. This wouldn't be the first time that drunken shinobis would want to take out their anger on him. He tried to run, but even though they were drunk, they were not so far gone as to not be able to catch this little kid. They started to punch him and kick him until he screamed out in pain as a strong kick connected with his ribs and probably broke them. That was when he lost it. His anger could not be rivaled at that moment where despite the torture he stood up and fought back. The next punch that was thrown at him was intercepted by a shield of shadow that now covered his arm. All of the chuunins stepped back and looked at the sight before them. This little kid had shadows swirling around him as if they were flames. The one thing that frightened them the most however was his face. His eyes were wide and filled with hate and anger while he was laughing almost hysterically.

"What are you afraid now? Afraid some little kid is gonna swallow you in darkness? COWARDS!" Shikamaru screamed as he formed a hand seal. Shadows leapt forward and attached themselves to the unwary chuunins completing the shadow bind technique. As Shikamaru laughed he formed a different seal. The oldest chuunin, who saw a Nara fight before they were wiped out by the Kyubi, new that that seal coming from a Nara wasn't good news. It was the shadow neck hold. They felt their airways constrict as the shadow hands grabbed their necks. Their only saving grace is that before they were completely suffocated the Third showed up. Seeing what was happening, he immediately intervened by hitting a pressure point on the Nara's neck while he wasn't paying attention. He immediately fell unconscious. The Third picked him up and directed his attention towards the chuunins, "I want all of you in my office tomorrow at 10:00 AM. Too put it lightly you are in deep shit," the Third said with obvious anger and disgust. He took Shikamaru back to his apartment and put him in bed.

Yamanaka Ino was a very pretty girl. She had an athletic body, long stunning blond hair, and a face that could make you melt. She was also one of the few people that didn't treat Shikamaru like dirt. She actually thought that he was quite handsome. She never even really noticed him until she found out how much of an insensitive jerk Uchiha Sasuke was. She had had a crush on the young Uchiha until one day she saw him brooding over his lost family and how he wanted to kill his brother for taking everything away from him. When she called out to him to see if he was alright he nearly roasted her with a fire jutsu. She would have understood if it was an accident and he apologized afterward, but he didn't even stop to see if she was okay. He just told her to get lost. She was crushed by this, but eventually realized that she was a fool for even liking him to begin with. She decided to turn her sights elsewhere; forehead girl could have the insensitive prick if she wanted him that bad. She saw her classmate Shikamaru sitting by himself in the back of the class. He had a dark aura about him, but didn't seem as stuck up as the Uchiha. She remembered her parents telling her to stay away from him. When she asked why her parents just said, "Because we said so." It seemed like every one's parents said the same thing. No one seemed to care about him. She didn't know anything about him. There was probably a reason for her parents to say what they did, but she had no idea what that was. Unknown to her Shikamaru also had a hidden crush on her. He believed that she would never go for a lazy demon child anyway. The Hokage told him the other morning what he was and reprimanded the chuunins for their disregard for the laws. They were demoted back to genin and were forbidden from promotion for at least 3 years and were also given heavy fines. Shikamaru finally understood that the people didn't hate him, but rather hated the thing that was inside him. They hated the demon that took so many of their loved ones, but because they couldn't hurt the demon they did the next best thing. They hurt the child carrying him. Shikamaru couldn't understand however how people could be so cruel to him; even if he carried the demon couldn't they see that he wasn't the demon himself. He decided that he would train extra hard today and meditate took take his mind off of all that was bothering him.

After school was out he immediately went to his secluded training are a in the woods. He decided that he would meditate first to clear his mind so that he could focus. As his mind cleared and became empty he heard a voice in the back of his head.

"Boy," said the voice

"Who is that and how am I hearing you inside my head?" asked Shikamaru

"Who do you think it is?" asked the voice

"Kyubi? Is that you? I didn't know that you could speak with me," said Shikamaru

"I can and I am. I have been trying to find way out of this accursed prison, but I recently realized that that is impossible. So, I am going to help you become stronger," said the Kyubi

"Why would you do that? I didn't think you cared about anything or anyone but yourself?" asked Shikamaru rather confused by this.

"I don't, but I do have to good reasons to help you. First is that being stuck in here is really boring and I really need something to do. Second is that if you die, I die and as much as I hate it in here I don't want that to happen. So, I'll help you get stronger so that you don't die too easily. The first thing that I will give you is unrestricted access to my chakra too compliment your already large chakra capacity. With this you should be able to perform much higher level jutsus once you learn higher control and you will also be able to hold the jutsus that you already know for longer. In the future I will teach you different jutsus and even summoning being a powerful creature that has not given in to human aid yet owes me a favor. For now however I think a simple Taijutsu style that happens to be extremely effective especially for you. It is called the shadow fist. You will require a wakazashi for this style to be effective. This you will need to purchase from a local weapon dealer. It shouldn't be too expensive, and don't worry too much about how "troublesome" this will be to learn. Everything that I teach you will be transferred from my mind to yours. In short you will be a master before you even try the style for the first time. You will have to train to keep your skills sharp like any other shinobi, but you won't need to waste time trying to learn a style that can take decades to truly master. When you wake up from this you will know the fighting style and you will see that almost no time has passed in the outside world. Another thing I will be able to do for you is to awaken any latent abilities that lie within your body. The only one that I sense is an eye technique that can possibly rival the Byakugen in terms of power and effectiveness. It will take time for me to unlock, but in time you will have it. That is all for now. Oh and keep this between you, me and people that you really trust and feel would understand your situation," the Kyubi finished his long sermon to the child and allowed him to wake up. An excited Shikamaru left his training area to go to the weapon dealer. He needed to buy the wakazashi. It is a style of short sword often used in combination with a martial art to increase its effectiveness. He was ecstatic when he found that it wasn't too expensive because they were hard to sell being as no one used them any more and preferred the katana. After buying it he went back to the training area to try the style out. He realized that it will be incredibly strong especially for him because it required the manipulation of shadows. He got into stance which required him holding the sword in a reverse manner, meaning that the blade ran up his arm instead of being pointed out toward the target. This was primarily for defensive purposes, but under the right conditions it can be used to give a downward stab or a strong upward slash. He held the bladed arm in front of his face while his other arm extended out in a half palm, also known as a bear or tiger fist depending on the martial art style that you are using. The attacks consisted of using normal punches and kicks with supportive slashes from the sword. What made the style deadly however was the fact that the shadow manipulator could extend his attacks beyond his reach with a shadow fist. So even if you just barely dodge the blow, as the blow goes past an arm of shadow could extend from the side of the users arm to deal a strike before the opponent could recover from the previous dodge. After a while he decided to go home and get something to eat. What he didn't know that hiding in the trees was a very curious Ino watching his every move with an impressed look on her face. She was definitely surprised that the quiet, lazy boy was this strong. She decided that tomorrow she would try to get to know him better.

The next day at the academy Shikamaru showed up and took his usual seat in the back. The only thing different about him today is he wore his sword horizontally on the back of his waist. No one asked him about it, because no one cared. He was left to his usual aloneness in the back of the class while everyone sat as far away as possible from him. To his great surprise and to everyone else's, when Ino walked in she went straight to the back and sat next to Shikamaru.

"Hey Shikamaru," she said with a little blush and a cheery face.

"Uh… hey what's up," he asked stuttering in a confused state. Thoughts ran through his head like freight trains, 'why is she here? Why is she talking to me like I'm her friend? Does she know what I am? Does she like me?' at this last thought he blushed a little, but she noticed and looked away with her own blush. Just then Iruka, the instructor started the class with a return to basic kunai throwing. Everyone made it painfully obvious that they didn't want to go over this.

"alright if you all think you know this then we will have a test on how well you all can throw," said Iruka now very annoyed.

"How troublesome," was Shikamaru's response. He had nothing to worry about for him. Being the strategist that he was he had practiced throwing weapons constantly and was the best in the class because of this. The reason he practiced so much was that an enemy dodging a flying kunai or shuriken opened themselves up for other attacks that could be even more devastating. Iruka barely heard Shikamaru's comment, but heard it none the less.

"Shikamaru, because you are so enthusiastic you can lead us off," his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Fine," he said. This would be the first time that he actually tried to participate. No one knew what to expect because no one had seen him try to throw before. He picked up the three kunai in one hand and two shuriken in another. In a very lackadaisical manner he crossed his arms and threw all of them at once. Not one missed their mark. Not even the genius Uchiha Sasuke could beat that. With that done and Iruka stunned beyond words he went back to his seat.

"That was brilliant Shikamaru," said Ino encouragingly.

"Thanks," said Shikamaru with a little hesitation.

"Um…Shikamaru. What are you doing after class?" Ino asked very shyly.

"I wasn't really planning on doing anything, why do you ask?" he said. He lied of course, he had planned on training, but he was too interested to hear what Ino wanted. Maybe she liked him. He banished that idea fast. She wouldn't like him, she barely knew him, and besides even if she did when she found out about Kyubi she would just dump him on the floor and spit on him like anyone else had in the past.

"I was wondering if you wanted to hang out later. I have to watch my family's flower shop and it gets boring and lonely. I need some one to talk to," said Ino

"Why me though? Why not ask one of your friends?" he said.

"Because…" she said as she started to blush. 'Why do I feel like this, it's Shikamaru, I barely know him.' "Because I want to get to know you better. You seem really nice and I have no idea why no one hangs around you." She said. This got Shikamaru thinking, 'She wants to get to know me? ME? And why is she blushing so much. Shit, she really does like me.'

"Um sure why not," he answered. Upon hearing that Ino's face lit up like she could never be happier.

After classes were over Shikamaru and Ino walked down to the flower shop. Ino's mom leaves for lunch and Ino reopens the shop after school and closes up when she leaves to go home. After Ino reopened the shop they both walked in. They sat and chatted until a customer came in. It was an older lady that needed a cane to help her walk. She eyed Shikamaru with definite hate in her eyes. Ino saw this, but didn't know what to make of it. In spite of himself Shikamaru decided that he would help the old lady in any way he could. When she got her order which was rather bulky and would be hard for her to carry Shikamaru stepped up.

"Let me help you with that," he said with a genuine smile on his face.

"Stay away from me you inhuman monster," the old lady screamed at him, while trying to struggle away from him with the bulky load. Despite being beaten and mocked for what he was, this had to hurt the worst. That this sweet old lady with all her years of wisdom could say such things, she was just like everyone else. She however didn't stop there.

"You should also stick to your own kind and not try to corrupt a sweet little girl like Ino with your ways. Be gone, when Ino's father finds out about this maybe he will kill you and we can all be happy," she concluded. Ino was in shock, as she had no idea what was going on. The one thing that broke her out of her trance was Shikamaru's face, a face that she thought was very handsome. His face was scrunched as if he was in pain, and a single tear rolled down his face. He raced to the door and was gone before Ino could say anything. The old woman turned to Ino.

"You awt to know better than to hang around the likes of him. Its better off this way, if we're lucky he may even kill himself in grief," the old woman finished as she walked out. As soon as the old woman was out of the store, however, Ino locked up and went to look for Shikamaru. She got lucky when she found him in the clearing where he trained. He was on his knees with his head down rocking lightly back and forth. As Ino approached she called out to him.

"Shikamaru?" she said with genuine care in her voice. Shikamaru missed this caring tone however jumping up at the sound of his name drawing his blade and getting into stance. Ino had a puzzled look on her face.

"Did you come here to mock me too? Or maybe you just want a piece of me like every one else? You want to beat me until I've felt all the pain I can possibly feel and then kill me so I will no longer be a danger to anyone? What, which one?" Shikamaru asked angrily tears rolling down his face.

"Shikamaru, I don't know what's going on. Why does every one want this to happen to you? You are a nice guy and… I think I like you. Maybe more than just a friend. I want to help you," she said as her own tears started forming in her eyes. Shikamaru eyes widened at this. He didn't expect this kind of treatment. All of a sudden he felt really bad for accusing her of being just like everyone else. He felt sick to his stomach. He fell to his knees again dropping the short sword. Ino walked up to him and got down on her knees in front of him. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a tight embrace. Shikamaru's heart instantly became lighter. No one has ever done that for him before and he was almost 14. He returned the hug and when they broke he looked into her beautiful eyes. He saw that they had tears in them too.

"What are you crying for?" he asked. "It wasn't you that those words from the old woman hurt."

"No, but you are sad and I care about you so that makes me sad, also when I first got here you assumed I was like everyone else," Ino responded

"I'm sorry about what I said I was just upset. I was also afraid. You are the only friend I really have and it hurt me to think that you may become like them if you knew," he said holding her shoulders.

"Knew what? Shikamaru all I know is that you are a good person. You can tell me anything and I won't think of you any differently," she answered him with utmost sincerity.

"I…I…I have the Kyubi sealed within my body. Everyone hates me because they think that I am the monster rather than just its container," he said looking down at the ground.

"Shikamaru, I… don't know what to say…," she said with awe on her face.

"Just don't yell at me to get away from you or say that I'm a monster or anything like that…please," he begged looking directly at her.

"I wouldn't do that Shikamaru. Those people are fools. If only they knew what kind of person you really are then maybe they would leave you alone. This has only increased my respect for you. You have dealt with so much pain and loneliness that most people never experience in a lifetime. I never want to see your face sad again. My parents are just like everyone else. They told me to stay away from you," she said

"Why are you here then? Shouldn't you listen to your parents?" Shikamaru asked

"I never listen to my parents because they are always too overprotective. And this time is no exception," she said as she leaned forward and gave Shikamaru a kiss on the lips. No tongues were involved, but it was the first time Shikamaru was ever kissed by a girl.

"Sorry, I don't know what came over me I…" she was cut off by Shikamaru's own kiss. When they broke apart Shikamaru whispered something into her ear.

"Thank you, I'm glad my first kiss ever was with you," he said. Ino was stunned to say the least. 'His first kiss ever. What about parents,' she then remembered that he had no family, no one to take care of him, and no one to love him.

"I'm glad too," she said. It was starting to get dark out and Ino needed to get home. "I have to get home, its getting late.

"Yeah I'm gonna stick around and meditate for awhile," the young Nara answered

"Ok I guess I'll see you at the graduation tomorrow," said Ino

"Yeah see you then," said Shikamaru. She left him alone to meditate. As his mind cleared a familiar voice could be heard in his head.

"That really was touching," said Kyubi

"What do you mean?" asked Shikamaru

"Kid as much as I don't like it we share everything and that includes feelings and thoughts," Kyubi stated. "So you really like her don't you and don't lie because I already know the answer?"

"Then why are you asking?" asked an annoyed Shikamaru

"Humor me," commanded the Kyubi

"Fine I do. I think that I am actually falling for her. She is the only person other than the Third that even cares that I exist," said Shikamaru

"Good, now how about I teach you an elemental jutsu. I'm thinking electricity would do nicely. Now this is a simple, crude, but extremely powerful jutsu, because its damage is based on how much power that you put into it," the Kyubi said as the knowledge of the jutsu flowed into his mind. Its name was bolt and the Kyubi was right it could be very powerful.

"Try it out and then go get some sleep," the Kyubi ordered. Shikamaru had no objections. He formed the required seals and held his hand out. He pumped a moderate amount of chakra into his hand and let loose. A bolt of lightning erupted from his hand and struck a tree. What happened was exactly what happens when a real lightning bolt hits a tree. It exploded from the flash boiling water and lit fire. Shikamaru smiled and made his way home. When he got there he saw someone crying next to his door. It was dark already, but he could tell that it was Ino. He walked up to her and she looked up at him.

"Ino what happened?" Shikamaru asked in a concerned voice.

"My dad told me never to talk to you again. He said that you were a monster and that you can't be trusted. I told him that he was wrong and that you were really a nice person that nobody ever gave a chance. He said that I have no idea what I was messing with. I told him that you told me everything. He only yelled at me more for defending you even after knowing the truth. I said that he was just stubborn and didn't give people the chance that they deserved. And then he…and then he hit me across the face with the back of his hand. I didn't know where else to go so I came here knowing that you would be back sometime or other," she said in between sobs. "Can I stay here at least for tonight so that I won't have to go home?"

"Sure you can," said Shikamaru embracing her in a very affectionate way. At that moment a loud voice was heard.

"Get away from my daughter you monster," said Ino's enraged father

"No, right now you are a bigger threat to her than I am. You hit your own daughter because she defended someone she cared about. I will not let you hurt the ONLY person that I care about," he said drawing his short sword and getting into his shadow fist stance. Ino's father only laughed.

"Do you really think that you can beat me? I'm a jounin and you aren't even a genin yet. I'll wipe you up like the shit that you are," growled Ino's Father as he charged the pair. Shikamaru pushed Ino behind him and prepared to defend. The jounin threw a punch that could best most chuunin. However being a master in the shadow fist allowed him to move competently. He dodged every punch and then decided to defend. Before he knew it, Ino's father punched the blade of the weapon cutting his fist deep. As he tried to pull away a shadow hand grabbed his wrist. He froze not knowing what to do. He had never seen this style of fighting. Before he could do anything Shikamaru kicked him hard in the face using shadows to increase the power of his kick by making his leg as hard as steel. He tumbled backward howling with pain. Blood now dripped from his broken face and sliced hand.

"Ino get over here now so that we can go home Now!" her father yelled. Ino just shrunk behind Shikamaru and squeaked to him to make her father go away.

"She is afraid of you, and she has reason to. If she wants to stay I will protect her even from her own family. Now leave before you really get hurt," said Shikamaru with a blank and serious expression.

"How dare you threaten me," he said as he forced his hands to make a weird seal that Shikamaru knew was one of his mind techniques. Shikamaru managed to form the seals for his bolt technique just before the older Yamanaka could use his technique a low powered bolt of lightning hit him in the chest. It was more than enough to knock him out and cause erratic heart beat. Not wanting to kill him the Nara gave Ino his keys and told her that she could wait inside while he brought her father to the Konoha Hospital for emergency treatment. He returned a half hour later to find that she fell asleep on his bed waiting for him. He walked in and pulled the covers over her and grabbed a spare blanket from the closet. He threw his shirt on the floor and fell asleep on the couch.

Ino woke up and was scared for a minute not knowing where she was or how she got into this bed. She looked over and found the Nara child half naked and asleep on the couch, the blanket on the floor next to his shirt. She stared for a little while, while she pieced together what happened. After she remembered what happened last night she felt very relieved to be in the company of such a strong and caring individual. She devised a sneaky way to wake him up. She would kiss him. She walked over to him and bent over him. She looked at his face as he quietly snoozed away. She moved in and placed her lips on his. He woke up too this situation and jumped out of sheer surprise.

"Ino, you scared the life out of me," he said gasping for air from the fright.

"That's what you get for sleeping in now come on or we will be late for the graduation exam," she said rushing the lazy child.

"Calm down we have…shit…we have ten minutes to be at the academy," he said in response. He quickly put on his shirt grabbed Ino's wrist and they both ran to the academy.

They both graduated and were put on a team with Hyuuga Hinata. Their sensei was supposed to be Hatake Kakashi, and he was late. When he finally arrived, two hours late, they went up onto the roof of the academy. Kakashi sat them down and decided to start the conversation.

"Okay so I will be your Jounin instructor Hatake Kakashi. I want you to tell me a little about yourselves," he said. "Lets start with you Nara Shikamaru."

"…zzz…"

"(Sigh) I'll go Kakashi-sensei. My name is Yamanaka Ino. I like The Lazy One next to me and right now I dislike my father," at this Kakashi's one visible eye widened for he was a good friend of Ino's Father. He already read the report and knew that Shikamaru was the one responsible for putting him in the hospital. Ino's father was no pushover and even he "Sharingan Kakashi" had a tough time fighting him. Hinata went on being shy and fainted at the thought of saying that she likes Naruto-kun. Ino finally got annoyed when Kakashi left and Shikamaru was still asleep. Little did she know he was getting a great gift from Kyubi. He unlocked Shikamaru's doujutsu, the shadow sight. It was a combination of the Hyuuga Byakagen and the Uchiha Sharingan. While one is supposed to access its power gradually, the Kyubi completely unlocked its abilities. It could see through objects just as well as the byakagen, and it had the same near 360 degree sight range. It could not however see the inner coils system thus making it useless for gentle fist combat. It could also predict moves just as well as a fully matured sharingan, and the higher stages, which Shikamaru already possessed, could use genjutsu identical to those of the Mengekyou Sharingan. It could not however copy techniques at all. The greatest thing about these eyes was that even with all of these attributes; it would not drain chakra because of his own rapid recovery rate. That was not all. Shikamaru was also given the summoning contract for two different summons. The first was just a simple weapon summon. He could use this to summon spare kunai or shuriken or swords and whatnot. The second and greater of the two was a creature summon contract for dragons. The strongest of them was Bahumat the great dragon lord. He awoke to being poked in the ribs by Ino. She explained what he missed and how they had to be up early tomorrow for a test. Shikamaru acknowledged her and turned to leave when she spoke up again.

"Umm Shikamaru, I was wondering if I could stay at your place for a little longer. I don't want to go home yet," Ino asked blushing and turning away to try and hide it.

"Sure, you can stay at my place for as long as you need," he said returning her a smile. "I have to run some errands, but I will be back in about an hour," he said flinging her his keys. "I'll see you then."

He ran off to go get some food and to buy Ino a birthday gift being that her birthday was tomorrow and he only found out yesterday. He went for the gift first. He ended up buying her a simple silver necklace that wasn't that expensive, he would have gotten something better but he was short on funds and still needed to purchase food. When he got back he saw two people pounding on his door and yelling they were obviously members of the Yamanaka clan.

"Open up Ino we know you are in there. When your father gets his hands on you he is going to…" he was cut off by Shikamaru, "he is going to die if he lays one finger on Ino." His rage had already activated his shadow sight. His iris and pupil went grey and had black veins coursing through the cornea. It was truly a frightening sight to witness. They could see his rage at the fact that they would threaten her like this.

"This is none of your business Nara Shikamaru. This is a Yamanaka clan affair and you would be wise not to interfere," said the stronger of the two who was obviously of jounin caliber. The younger one seemed to be his son who appeared to be an early chuunin.

"This became my business when she came to me for help. In addition to the fact that I have fallen in love with her and would give my life to protect her from any harm," said Shikamaru. Ino who was listening through the door heard everything that was said.

"As if we would believe that a demon like you could love," spat the jounin. If you insist on getting in our way, then we will have to take care of you."

"You wish that you could beat me. Ino's father was stronger than you two combined and I beat him without taking a scratch, and I was holding back. The only reason I'm a genin is because I haven't taken the chuunin or jounin exams yet," stated the young Nara proudly. "I am the pride of the Nara clan. The strongest since my ancestor first received these eyes. You don't stand a chance against me." The leader gave a very angered look and said that Shikamaru would pay for trying to interfere. He went to the door and knocked. When there was no answer he called out to Ino.

"Ino it's me open up. C'mon they're gone now," he said pleading to her to open the door. She eventually cracked it and upon seeing Shikamaru opened the door to let him in.

"Shikamaru, um I heard what you said out there about how you feel about me," Ino said shyly.

"You should know that I meant every word. I am in love with you, or at least I think I am. I'm sort of new to the whole concept of love," Shikamaru replied to a now very happy Ino. She sat down next to him on his couch. She leaned her head on his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"So do you want to wait till tomorrow or do you want to open your present today instead. The only reason I ask is that I don't know how long the test tomorrow is going to be?" Shikamaru asked

"You got me a present? Oh that is so sweet of you. You really shouldn't have. I know how tight your money situation is, but sure I'd love to open it now," she said as Shikamaru pulled out a skinny box and handed it to her. She opened it and yelped with glee.

"Oh thank you. It's beautiful," she said as she inched closer to Shikamaru. "You know, I feel the same way as you. I'm falling for you." She kissed him and this time tongues were involved. Shikamaru wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close deepening the kiss while she wrapped her arms around his neck. They lied down on the couch and eventually fell asleep in each others arms. They woke up at the time when they were supposed to show up at the training area. By the time they got everything ready and got there they were an hour late.

"Kakashi is going to be so mad at us for being this late," whined Ino.

"Relax, I'm willing to bet that he isn't even there yet. He was two hours late yesterday. And by the way Happy Birthday," said Shikamaru with a smile. They got there, said hi to Hinata and waited for another hour until Kakashi finally showed up. He explained the bell exercise and told the team that those that could not take a bell from him would fail and go back to the academy. However there were only two bells. Shikamaru realized what this kind of exercise was before he even started it. It was all about teamwork. He knew that he could take a bell from Kakashi without a problem, but the bell wasn't the point. He signaled to Ino and Hinata to follow him when the task began. They got the picture. They met in the woods about 1 min after the start. He explained to the girls what the exercise was and his plan to accomplish that.

Meanwhile Kakashi was reading Icha Icha Paradise when the two girls attacked. He praised them for working together and just figured that Shikamaru was one to fight alone. It wasn't until he realized that he couldn't move that he had a problem. The girls walked up to him and took the bells without any resistance. Kakashi glanced down and saw a shadow leading into the woods. That was when it hit him. This was the shadow bind technique, and it was a strong one at that. He was then released and the young Nara showed himself. Kakashi was surprised at how smart and strong he was. According to the charts he was given, Shikamaru got the lowest grades in the class. Kakashi decided to figure that out another day.

"Congratulations you all pass," said Kakashi while Shikamaru just smirked.

"So I was right, it was all about working as a team. Even if I got the bells from you on my own we would have failed because we didn't work together," said Shikamaru

"Yep," said Kakashi with a smile. "We will have our first mission tomorrow so get some rest, but before you go Shikamaru, I want to spar with you to see how strong you really are."

"Fine by me, even if it is troublesome I can tell you won't let me leave until we do this," said Shikamaru drawing his short sword and getting into stance.

'A wakazashi? I haven't seen one of those used in a long time,' thought Kakashi as he got into his own stance. They faced off for about 30 seconds without anyone moving. It was high noon so the shadow master would have trouble making shadows, but that didn't seem to faze him as he charged. When he was feet away from Kakashi he disappeared in a whisp of dark black smoke. He reappeared behind Kakashi being just too slow to hit him as Kakashi jumped forward. Kakashi recognized the ability for what it was almost immeadiately after it was performed. It was "Shadow Blend." The user of the technique turns his body into a shadow and moves along the ground almost invisibly. At the right time they reappear and attack their opponent. This was a very high level skill, possibly more advanced than some kinjutsus because of its requirement to manipulate the body's structure in such a way. This kid was truly something.

"Not bad, you dodged it," said Shikamaru. He then jumped into the air while putting his sword back into its sheath. He formed a set of hand seals and summoned two large shuriken out of thin air. He tossed both at Kakashi. With Kakashi's attention focused on the two shuriken heading his way he didn't have time to realize what seals Shikamaru was forming now. All of a sudden the two shuriken became ten. The Shadow shuriken technique is, while known to very many people, still an advanced and deadly skill. As the shuriken collided with Kakashi he disappeared in a cloud of smoke and was replaced by a now very destroyed log. Shikamaru was stunned that he didn't see this coming. He had no idea where Kakashi was so he activated his Shadow Sight to view the surrounding area. He saw Kakashi hiding in a tree nearby trying to analyze the situation. He got an idea to flush him out. He formed the seals for the bolt technique and aimed it at the base of the tree that Kakashi was in. The tree exploded sending a stunned Kakashi flying. Shikamaru already knew he used a replacement thanks to his eyes. Kakashi landed safely some distance away. He lifted his forehead protector to reveal his sharingan. Shikamaru decided too try something else that would almost assure his victory. He wanted this to end now. He raised his hand to his mouth and bit his thumb. Kakashi's eyes widened considerably seeing what he was trying to do. He made a mad dash to try and stop the technique, but arrived too late.

"_Kyuichose No Jutsu!" _Shouted Shikamaru. A giant cloud of smoke appeared and out of it a dragon with red scales appeared out of it (A/N: European style dragon, not oriental). Shikamaru was standing on its shoulder with his arms crossed gazing down at Kakashi with a grin on his face.

"Give up," said Shikamaru calmly. "You no longer stand a chance of beating me. We may have been equal before in terms of skill before, but it was over the second my summoning succeeded." Kakashi knew he was right, but hated to admit that his student defeated him like this. Granted it was a cheap shot to bring this creature into an even fight, but that's what a shinobi does. Deception and the ability to create an unfair advantage is the true skill of being a shinobi, and this kid was better than almost anyone.

"You're right I concede," said Kakashi. "We have our Missions starting tomorrow you should get some rest." And with that he disappeared into a puff of smoke.

A/N: so how did you like chapter 1? It is longer than I am used to but I just couldn't stop. I will probably start the next chapter as soon as possible. Please review so I know that at least some people like it. Flames are welcome too, just make sure it's a constructive criticism type of flame. It is just plain rude and obnoxious to say things like "It sucks" and such without a reason.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello again everyone. New Chapter and sorry it took so long to update. College is kicking my ass. Anyway I know most of you had a problem with Shikamaru "God moding" trust me all will be explained, He is not as strong as he may have seemed. In addition he has been training for a long time with assistance from the Third. And as far as the multi element thingy, shinobi's can use elemental jutsus outside of their own "Family Element." If that was true then Sarutobi, regardless of being Hokage would not be able to use Katon and Doton (battle with Orochimaru). He never really had friends so while everyone else was off playing he was training day in and day out. It is only natural that he would be exceptionally strong for a genin. Shikamaru got the upper hand with the summoning technique because Kakashi didn't expect him to know it. He was not watching for it and thus did not think to counter the hand seals till it was too late to stop. Also any other shinobi would not have used that technique in his situation. He simply wanted to end the fight as fast as possible because it was too troublesome. Not to worry he will have challenges. And for those of you that are upset about the breakup of the Ino, Shika, Chou group, I'm sorry but I was never really a fan of Chouji, and would have a hard time writing about him. I put Hinata on the team because, while I am making her stronger then she was in the real series, she is still pretty weak. This gives me chance for some side training and stories as well as a little inter team romance (Naruto/Hinata). Anyway, now with a few thank yous and the start of the story.

Thank you,

No-But-It-Would-Have-Been-A-Beautiful-Life.

MoonlitWolf1017

Yarochisai

Deafturtle

Crystal-Chan2

xWolfbanex

JikoDemon

Hopefully all of your concerns were answered in the above paragraph, if not please repost your concern and happy reading.

Disclaimer: As I have not yet taken over the world I still do not own Naruto.

Troublesome Missions and the Devil of the Mist

'Damn it, he is stronger than me. I only won because he underestimated me, and that won't happen again. He isn't a genius for nothing.' Shikamaru thought as he walked back to his home. 'I wasted most of my chakra and a large chunk of Kyubi's on that summoning and that was the lower level grand summoning. I can only imagine how much stronger I will have to become to summon the boss Bahumat.' He kept on thinking a he walked down the street. He didn't notice the stares that he was getting. He was used to them after 13 years of enduring them. Life was hard. His mind drifted to Ino. 'What does she see in me? Everyone else sees me as the demon. She is different though. She sees the real me, the one who feels the pain of constant rejection of everyone else.' He got to his house and walked in to find Ino waiting for him with a smile on her face. He smiled right back seeing the only person that he ever truly cared about. He would do anything for her. He would die for her if necessary. He would not lose her now, he would not be left all alone again.

"Hey, how did the fight go?" she asked

"I won, but on luck alone. It won't happen again until I get stronger. He underestimated me and I capitalized on it, however my chakra is really low now. I'm surprised that I was able to make it back here without collapsing." Shikamaru said as he fell onto the futon.

"Wow, even still you beat a Jounin. For a Genin to do that…you must be really strong," she said admiring him. "I'm glad that you are on my team." She walked over to the futon and sat down next to him. A smirk crossed his face as he saw an opening.

"Is that the only reason that you are happy that you are on my team?" he asked. She looked down and seeing his smirk she blushed and turned her face away so that he wouldn't see her. He sat up and put his arms around her waist from behind. He leaned forward and placed his chin on her shoulder and said, "You don't have to be embarrassed or nervous around me." "I won't bite…unless you want me to." He said that last part with a hint of seduction in his voice. He felt her body stiffen in his arms and she turned to hit him playfully on the chest.

"Shikamaru, I didn't know you could show perversion through your lazy exterior," she said playing around.

"I can from time to time. More often if you like it" he smiled at the last part and leaned in to kiss her. 'My god, she is changing me. She is opening me up. A few weeks ago I never would have even thought to say anything like that to anyone at all. I'm changing…and I like it.' These thoughts ran through his head as his lips connected with hers and their bodies entangled themselves in each other. All rational thought was lost. Even the exhaustion that Shikamaru felt before had somehow vanished. The only thing that his body felt was hers pressed against him. Her hands ran through his hair which he had been growing out. One of his hands was on the back of her head while the other was on her lower back holding her tightly to him. Their tongues danced in each others mouths. Ino moaned into the kiss as her body heated up. She could feel his chest pressing into her breasts. It was sending feelings that she never felt before through her entire body. She didn't want it to stop. They broke the kiss to get a breath of air. Shikamaru kissed her up her jaw line till he got to her ear. He whispered into her ear, "I love you, we have only been together maybe a little more than a week, but it feels like I have known and loved you for years."

"I love you too, and I know exactly what you mean," she whispered back. "Please don't leave me. I don't know what I would do without you there anymore. You have become the light in my life, and I know I have been your light as well. We were meant for each other." He took his hand and gently ran it down the side of her face. She reached up and took it in hers and kissed the tip of his index finger. She wanted him so badly, but she wasn't ready for too much more than kissing yet. She pulled him back to her mouth and kissed him again. This continued until they were both asleep in each others arms.

They awoke the next morning still holding one another. They didn't want to move, but they had to get to the predetermined meeting place where they would meet Kakashi in order to get their missions. After some breakfast and idle chatter they made their way to the meeting place. Hinata was already their, but their Jounin instructor was unsurprisingly absent. They waited for two hrs before Kakashi showed his face. Ino and Hinata were talking and Shikamaru was just sleeping.

"Yo," Kakashi said to get the attention of his new students.

"You're late," Shikamaru said opening one eye.

"Yeah well you see I was I saw an injured dog and decided to bring him to Inuzuka Hana and…" Kakashi answered.

"Don't lie Kakashi, its unbecoming of someone of your rank," The young Nara said in response.

"Anyway, we have a mission today," he said and led them to the mission assignment room. They received their first D rank mission. Shikamaru knew that it was going to be bad, but he never figured it to be this bad. They had to walk a bunch of dogs for local aristocrats. The Hokage, knowing and helping the Nara over his years as a child knew that he was pissed when Shikamaru gave him an evil look, but said nothing.

The next few weeks were dedicated to countless numbers of these pointless missions. Shikamaru instead used this time to help him train his various abilities. His Shadow Sight improved a little and was easier to wield. He took Ino under his wing, so too speak, as she refused to let him out of her sight. He taught her many of the techniques that the third taught him, and he knew that he could teach. His family techniques, such as Shadow Bind, were unteachable outside of his family. The Hokage taught him more then just his family techniques in the time that he trained with him. He taught him many ninjutsu and he decided to teach her three low level, but effective, Katon, Suiton, and Doton techniques (for those of you that are Naruto Illiterate I will offer a translation here: Katon Fire, Suiton Water, and Doton Earth). They included the Uchiha's Goukakyuu no jutsu, Mizu Bunshin, and the Doryuuheki no jutsu. He taught these techniques to Ino, but she still couldn't control them too well as she had relatively low Chakra levels. Taking this into account he decided to hold off on teaching her new techniques and decided to train up her strength, endurance, and chakra reserves. He trained right along side her. They ran laps of the village, often joining up with Maito Gai and Rock Lee as they often did that as well, they did Chakra building meditation, as well as various exercises and sparring.

After completing their 7th D rank mission, Shikamaru snapped. "Listen Hokage-Sensei (remember the Hokage trained him, so I had him use the Sensei suffix instead of the usual sama suffix), I have played along with these pointless missions for long enough. We need a challenge, something a little more interesting, or I'm going to go insane."

"Hokage-sama, I apologize for my student's outburst," Kakashi stated thinking that such blatant actions would anger the Hokage, but he just smiled.

"It's okay Kakashi, I was actually beginning to wonder when this was going to happen," the Hokage chuckled. "Very well, how would you guys like to take a C rank mission?"

"That would be a little more to my liking Hokage-sensei" said Shikamaru with a smirk. "So, what kind of mission is it?"

"It is an escort mission. You will be escorting the bridge builder Tazuna back to Wave country so the he can continue his work. Their may be some robbers or bandits on the road as well as those that do not wish to see the bridges completion. You are to protect him as long as is necessary," the Hokage finished the briefing, and called for Tazuna to come in.

"This is it…are you sure these brats can protect me?" Tazuna said with a slight drunken slur while holding a bottle of sake.

"hmf," was all that Shikamaru answered. They left the village heading towards wave country.

They had only been on the road for a day when things started to go wrong. Shikamaru sensed it, but didn't want to jump to conclusions. If it was an enemy, then to hide this well they had to be shinobi, and he did not want to rush into a fight until he knew more details than he did. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Kakashi looking around casually, but intently.

'So he's noticed it too,' thought Shikamaru. 'He isn't a jounin for nothing. I just wish I knew more, I could try to see what's going on with my shadow sight, but that would reveal one of my trump cards away to early.' That was when he saw it. The puddle in the middle of the path, when there was no rain in the past week or so. He knew that their was going to be a trap, but knowing that there is a trap is the first step in evading it (if you can tell me what that last line was from I'll give you 5 imaginary points). As they approached the puddle Ino hit a trip wire that sent a dozen kunai her way. With all the speed he could muster Shikamaru rushed at her and pushed her out of the way. He managed to dodge most of the kunai himself, but a few hit non-critical pts. He had two in his left arm, and one in the right leg. At that moment two bladed and spiked chains wrapped around Kakashi and ripped him apart. Hinata and Ino's eyes went wide and they froze with fear. Shikamaru had already analyzed the situation when he noticed the Demon brothers of the Mist village heading for their next target, which happened to be Hinata. She cringed in fear as Shikamaru rushed in front of her holding his wakazashi in his hand on his good arm. He had a determined look about him that neither of the girls had ever seen. He parried their strikes and delivered two simple yet effective kicks to their faces sending them back. He used this opportunity to immobilize their chain technique as they were bound to try and use it again. He threw a shuriken at their chain and followed up with a kunai. The shuriken pinned the chain to a tree and the kunai locked it in place. They tried to pull it free, but broke the chain in the process. They jumped back to regroup, when both were knocked out from behind. Kakashi stood behind their unconscious bodies.

"It's about time you came back," Shikamaru spat

"Oh, I just wanted to see what you guys were capable of. You Shikamaru are fine. You are at a high Chunnin, if not jounin level. The girls however need some work. When we get to Wave country we shall start training." The jounin announced as Shikamaru tended to his almost healed wounds. Kakashi went over to speak with Tazuna and Ino, who had just broken out of her terrified trance rushed over to Shikamaru to help. He turned to her as she approached.

"Are you alright?" he asked first, which surprised her.

"I am fine, but what about you? You were hit pretty badly back their," she asked generally concerned.

"Don't worry about me, the powers of you-know-what allows me to heal quickly," Shikamaru answered. "How's Hinata, is she alright?"

"She is fine, just still a little shaken by the whole thing." Ino said. Shikamaru got up and went over to Hinata. Ino felt a little tinge of jealousy. She knew that he was just concerned about his other teammate, but the feeling was their none the less.

"Hinata? How are you doing?" he asked her.

"I….I am a little better now, b..but before….I f..froze up, I'm sorry," she stuttered hanging her head in shame.

"It's okay, I will help you train to make you stronger and more confident. Just relax now," he comforted her. He then proceeded over to Kakashi to have a talk with him and Tazuna about the ranking and continuation of this mission, but he had a feeling that Kakashi was talking with Tazuna about this very thing as he was walking over their.

"Tazuna, this mission is out of this team's league, except for Shikamaru this team is generally only ready for low C class missions. This is turning into a B-rank mission. And if our intelligence on these Mist-nin is accurate, we can expect the missing-nin Zabuza to be the next one to attack. If that happens this mission ceases as a B-rank and becomes an A-rank. I will discuss the options with my team, but the main one is going back to Konoha and declaring the mission null and void. The other is continuing anyway despite the danger, which I'm afraid is what they will pick," Kakashi lectured

"I understand. I lied about the mission when they were assigning a rank, but I had to, as this is all that I could afford. The B and A missions are too expensive. Wave is an impoverished country and the bridge that I am building is their only hope. I had to try and get some protection," he said looking at the ground in shame and sorrow.

"Kakashi, we can't leave him now. If the Devil of the Mist is definitely going to be the next to attack he won't stand a chance. If we leave him now he won't last 2 seconds after Zabuza catches him. It will basically be an execution. As much as I dislike most people, I can't do that to someone that has shown no hostility to my condition, regardless if he knows what it is or not. I for one won't abandon him, besides this will be a good opportunity to train on team work as that is the only way the girls will survive such a confrontation," Shikamaru finished. "Even though I will protect them with my own life, especially Ino, I won't be able to be by their sides for the whole fight and they may have to defend themselves. Besides, I want to fight Zabuza, and if we work together, that is you and me Kakashi, we should be able to easily combat him," Shikamaru smirked and Kakashi gave him a smile that was hidden behind his mask.

"Very well, we shall continue the mission," was all that Kakashi said and they continued on their way.

Two days later they came to shore in Wave in a thick fog. They were all on edge since getting on the boat. They all could tell that something wasn't right. As the started walking away from the shore and deeper into Wave the feeling grew until it reached a breaking point.

"GET DOWN!" Shouted Shikamaru and Kakashi in unison as they pulled everyone else down with them as they hit the deck. A great sword flew over them and lodged itself in a tree. When they all got up they looked at the sword and saw someone standing on it.

"Oh no wonder the Demon brothers were beaten, Copy ninja Kakashi was with this team," Zabuza exclaimed.

"Protect Tazuna," Kakashi said as he revealed his Sharingan. They all gathered around Tazuna drawing kunais and a wakazashi.

"That won't work," Zabuza said without emotion as a Mizu Bunshin landed in the middle of the group. Shikamaru activated his Shadow sight and stopped the large blade from spinning and killing everyone with a backward slash. The bunshin dissolved into a puddle. Kakashi got distracted by this attack on his team and turned around Tazuna took this opportunity to cut Kakashi in half. As the two halves separated, they turned into water.

"A Mizu Bunshin!" Zabuza exclaimed as he felt a kunai rest on his throat.

"It's over," Kakashi exclaimed nonchalantly, but his eyes went wide when this Zabuza also vanished into a puddle of water. He sensed Zabuza approaching for another attack, so he jumped back into the water to avoid getting hit. After he was in the water he noticed that it felt heavier than it should. Before he could act Zabuza was at his side performing a set of hand seals. Kakashi was caught in the Water Prison technique. After Zabuza secured his hold on Kakashi he summoned up a series of Mizu Bunshins and had them get into formation to attack the younger shinobis.

"Run, you can't beat him, just take Tazuna and run," Kakashi shouted.

"Not a chance Kakashi, you know full well that while I'm strong I can't take this guy without your help. We'd be hunted down by him and killed. Our only option is to stand our ground here, where he can only use Mizu Bunshins while he traps you," Shikamaru stated in a calm voice. "Besides if it's only Mizu Bunshins I can easily take care of it."

"You sure about that kid," Zabuza challenged as three of the water clones attacked. Shikamaru easily dealt with them with a few evasive maneuvers and slashes.

"Is that all Zabuza? If these are ten percent of your power then I might be able to beat you myself." Shikamaru taunted as he dispatched two more Mizu Bunshins. After all the Mizu Bunshins were gone Shikamaru attacked Zabuza directly. Three more water clones formed and took a defensive stance around Zabuza to protect him from the onslaught. They seemed a little stronger than the average, and Shikamaru noticed as he was actually having trouble with the three, when he was easily able to dispatch five before. After he defeated them, he jumped back to re-evaluate the situation.

'If I re-approach him, he'll just use the Mizu Bunshin again to keep me busy and try to where me out. That said, taijutsu is out. That leaves me with ninjutsu and genjutsu………I got it. I'll use my doujutsu to get into position, and then I'll free Kakashi,' he planned. He used his Shadow sight to create an average strength, yet effective genjutsu that made it look like he was still in the same spot as before, when he really was moving off into the trees on the side. Those in Zabuza's general vicinity were affected, namely Kakashi and Zabuza. However, Kakashi was able to see through it thanks to his sharingan and new exactly what Shikamaru was doing. Ino and Hinata on the other hand had no idea what he was doing. They decided that it was best to just wait it out. Shikamaru got into position in the forest and prepared the Shadow Copy Jutsu. He formed the one necessary seal and launched his shadow at Zabuza. Zabuza suddenly felt the control of his body leave him. He also saw the genjutsu in front of him disappear and saw that the kid was not there. He cursed himself for his stupidity. He tried to fight Shikamaru's control, but was forced to remove his hand from the water prison releasing Kakashi who immediately put a kunai to Zabuza's throat. As he was about to deliver the killing stroke, Zabuza was struck by two needles in his neck. He fell to the ground as Shikamaru let go of the Shadow copy no jutsu. Kakashi took his pulse.

"He's dead," Kakashi stated, his voice void of all emotion. They all looked up to the tree that the needles came from. On one of the branches stood a shinobi with a mask that held the symbol of the Mist Village. The five shinobi's stared at each other for all of 30 seconds.

"Who is that Kakashi-sensei?" asked Ino breaking the silence.

"He is a Hunter-nin. Hunter-nins are dispatched from their home village to hunt down and eliminate missing-nins that are a potential threat, or posses the secrets of the village, which unfortunately every shinobi in a village has," Kakashi answered the curious blond.

"I thank you in your assistance in capturing this dangerous individual. I will take care of the rest," he responded taking the body away and leaving two confused and one indifferent genin, and one suspicious jounin. They took their leave of the water side area and proceeded to Tazuna's house.

They spent a couple of days training hard. Shikamaru spent all of his time with Hinata to get her stronger. Ino felt a tad bit jealous that her boyfriend was spending all of his time with another girl, but her mind rationalized that it was because he wanted the team stronger and a team was only as strong as the weakest member. Hinata really needed the help anyway, and she was doing fine herself learning control and a few low-level genjutsu from her perverted sensei. She couldn't understand how he could be so open about his like of those perverted books. Regardless of his perversion, he as doing a remarkable job teaching her new techniques and ways to train herself to become stronger.

Shikamaru was sparring with Hinata, trying to get her stronger, and getting her to build up her confidence by not fighting as well as he should. He was letting her get hits in that he could block, but then again, he was on par with a low jounin so he should hold back a little when sparring with her or it would only discourage her. The training was going well and he could feel her confidence building with each hit she landed. Along with her confidence improving he could feel strength in her hits. This was probably because she had been holding back, afraid of defeat or shame. It sapped her strength, but no longer. Now she was becoming what was expected of a genin.

After training, the four shinobi were sitting and eating peacefully in Tazuna's house. Everyone noticed that Hinata was holding herself a little higher than usual. It appeared that her training with Shikamaru was extremely helpful to her confidence problem.

"I'll train with Hinata tomorrow Shikamaru. You and Ino train together instead," Kakashi announced.

"Sure, you better watch out though Kakashi. She can be very strong when she believes in herself," Shikamaru said, half jokingly. Kakashi just smiled, seeing that for what it really was, another attempt at a miniature confidence booster. Hinata blushed at hearing a guy compliment her on her skill. And Ino, seeing the blush, felt a tinge of jealousy. She knew that it was pointless to be jealous because Hinata still had a crush on Naruto, but it was still there.

Shikamaru got up and went out onto the small porch and sat down with his feet hanging over the edge. Ino decieded to follow him outside, so that she could have some alone time with the man that held her heart. When she got there she saw him staring off into the darkness of the night. She went over and sat down next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder. She smiled just from being near him like this. He broke out of his trance and put his arm around her and rested his head on the top of hers. They just sat there in each others arms, and just enjoying being together like this.

Kakashi just watched the two in silence. He was happy that Shikamaru found a person that cared for him. He saw the kind of torment that he had to go through, having to save him a couple of times when he was an ANBU. His life was shit, because he had no one that truly cared about him, except for the Third. A lone old man, no matter how great a shinobi he was, can only be so much company to a young child. Kakashi went back inside, smiling behind his mask. Shikamaru and Ino stayed like that for almost an hour, just gazing at the stars before going to their beds.

The next day Shikamaru was drilling Ino in the jutsus that he taught her awhile ago. He believed that she now had enough chakra and chakra control to be able to perform them properly. She had wanted to learn something new, but Shikamaru insisted that she master these first. When she did, he promised to teach her the stronger jutsu variants like the Katon: Ryuka no jutsu (Fire element: Dragon Technique), and the Suiton: suiryudan no jutsu (Water element: water dragon blast technique). They drilled for about 3 hrs. which was when Ino ran out of chakra and couldn't continue. She was sitting against a tree completely exhausted.

"How did I do?" she asked.

"You did really well. You have the Mizu Bunshin and the Doryuuheki no jutsu down pretty well. For the Earth wall its only a matter of how much chakra you use. It will get stronger as you do, but you are still having trouble with the Goukakyuu no jutsu. You are close though. All you need is practice, but not tonight," he finally finished.

"Yeah, I'm too tired to continue and we have to guard Tazuna tomorrow," she said. "lets go back and get some rest."

They went back to Tazuna's house to recover for the potential fight the next day.

"Shikamaru? Do you think we will face more S-rank criminals at the bridge tomorrow?" Ino asked sitting next to him on the porch.

"It's a distinct possibility that we may, but I wouldn't worry about it. You and Hinata have improved allot in the past few days. We can hold our own in any fight now if we work together," Shikamaru smiled. That earned him a quick kiss on the cheek before Ino went up to go to sleep. Shikamaru stayed up late into the night to look out at the stars and just empty his mind. He had a bad feeling about tomorrow.

The next day they followed Tazuna to the bridge. The fog was unbelievably thick, and unbelievably familiar. As they made their way onto the bridge the fog got thicker. They continued to walk until they were stopped by no less than six Zabuzas.

"Ino, Hinata why don't you take care of this," Kakashi said as the two girls took out three of the six clones each. Shikamaru and Kakashi both smiled at the accomplishments of their friends and/or students.

"Oh, they seem to have improved Kakashi. I remember them being too scared to move the last time I saw them," Zabuza said as he and the hunter-nin appeared out of the fog. With that said The hunter-nin charged at the group with tremendous speed. Shikamaru met him half way out needle meeting wakazashi in a high pitch clang.

"Oh. It appears you have a rival for speed Haku," Zabuza commented. Their were a few more blows exchanged before either of the two shinobi spoke.

"You are pretty good, but I have you at two distinct disadvantages," Haku stated.

"And what might those be?" Shikamaru asked.

"The first is the water on the ground, and the second is that I have occupied one of you hands," he said starting to form one handed seals.

"What! One handed?" Shikamaru expressed out loud. He jumped back just as Haku finished the technique.

"HiJutsu, Sensatsu Suishou," Haku declared as he stomped in one of the puddles sending droplets into the air. They quickly changed to ice needles and hurled themselves at Shikamaru. (A/N as much as I like using the actual names for the jutsus I find it annoying to look and/or listen to the actual names every time I need a new one, or translating original moves to its Japanese equivalent. So I will use English translations from here on out.)

"Shit," Shikamaru said out loud as he dodged all but one that pierced his shoulder. "Ouch…two can play that game." He said as he formed a few seals, ending the usual shadow seal (A/N not really sure if that's what its called, but you should know what I mean. If you don't, I am using the seal that he uses for the shadow copy jutsu as the base seal for all shadow jutsu.)

"Shadow needles no jutsu," he called out as he formed his shadow into solid black needles that flew at Haku. Haku, using his speed to his advantage, dodged all of the shadow needles, and started to seal.

"Secret jutsu: Demonic Ice Mirrors," he said as mirrors of ice formed around him and Shikamaru. "I'm sorry that you had to see this jutsu. None have yet to survive it has been cast," he said as he backed into one of the mirrors and merged with it. His image suddenly appeared on all of the mirrors. Shikamaru took one look around and knew that he was in trouble. He activated his shadow sight and tried to make a dash for the outside. As he neared the edge, needles shot at him from the mirrors closest to him. He dodged all that would hit critical areas, but even with the shadow sight he didn't have the speed to dodge them all. He had also seen Haku move, but again without the necessary speed, it would be impossible to catch him. Genjutsu was also out, as for the ones that would be effective in this fight needed eye contact with his shadow sight.

"Shikamaru!" Ino shouted. She had seen him get hit by the needles, and was worried about him.

"Ino, go help Shikamaru. Hinata stay here and protect Tazuna using your Byukagen to see through this mist that Zabuza just summoned," Kakashi ordered.

"Hai!" they both said as Ino charged off towards the ice mirrors. She jumped inside the mirrors in time to se Shikamaru try to use a grand fireball jutsu, miss, and get hit by another wave of needles.

"Shikamaru!" she shouted running over to him. He was pulling out some of the needles to free up some movement.

"Ino! Why did you come inside the mirros?" he asked with concern.

"To help you of course. You're getting pretty beat up and look like you need a hand," she said.

"You should have stayed away. This person is beyond us," as he said that Haku went on the offensive again. He threw needles at Ino's back. Shikamaru saw these at the last second and threw Ino to the side, taking the needles himself. He fell down in pain, unable to feel most of his body. He looked up to see Ino stand up to try and come back to him, to only get hit by needles herself. He watched her fall down, her eyes closing, and he feared the worst. He felt an anger build inside him, and a burst of power start to flow through him. (A/N sorry that there are so many of these, but I want to clarify the next part before I continue. In my story I'm changing the color of kyubi's chakra from red to black just to fit Shikamaru's shadowy persona better. He also won't go on all four's like Naruto. Instead think more like an Inuyasha like demon. Fangs, claws, completely red eyes with black oblong iris, but standing upright. Kay?)

"Is this the first time that you've had to watch someone precious to you die? It is hard, but that is the life of a shinobi. You must simply learn to accept it and move on," Haku stated matter of factly.

"Shut up," Shikamaru all but whispered. "You killed her. The only person that I have ever cared about. The only one who truly cared back. The only person I loved. I have nothing now. You took everything away from me, and you will not live to regret it!" Shikamaru said looking up his eyes changed (see above note) fangs bared. Their was an eruption of black chakra that was pushing all the air in a whirlwind. Haku threw a few more needles at him to test this new power. Shikamaru merely held up one hand open palm towards the needles and blasted them away with a quick burst of air pressure caused by increasing his chakra in that region. The whirlwind of chakra receded leaving behind the changed boy. He charged the mirror that he thought Haku was in. The mirror shattered with the impact of his fist. Haku tried counter attacking his back from a mirror across from Shikamaru, but was intercepted before he could strike. Shikamaru grabbed Haku's wrist, stopping him in his tracks. Shikamaru wound back like he was going to punch Haku, but instead slashed across Haku's throat with his claws. As the mirrors started to deteriorate Shikamaru threw the limp body of Haku to the side and the black chakra receded. Shikamaru was at his limit. Fatigue was setting in quickly, as he no longer had the Kyubi's chakra to give him strength. The only thing that drove him now was his want, no, his need to be near Ino, even if she was gone. He made it to her side and collapsed to his knees. Tears started to form in his eyes as he lightly raised Ino's head. Then something that surprised him and wiped away his sadness happened. Ino made a low groaning noise as her head was moved. No longer blinded by sadness, Shikamaru could see Ino's chest rising and falling ever so slightly. She was alive. Her eye's opened slightly again making Shikamaru even happier.

"Shika? What happened? Where is that boy and his mirrors?" Ino asked weakly.

"Shh, It's alright now. You got hit by a bunch of needles and they hurt you pretty bad. I thought you had died and I kinda flipped out on that Haku boy and umm kinda killed him in a fit of rage," Shikamaru said guiltily. It was his first kill. All shinobi had to go through it, but it was never easy. Kakashi and Hinata came over, Zabuza having been defeated by a chidori to the heart, to check on Ino and Shikamaru's condition. They patched up Ino with some weak medical jutsu from Kakashi, and some healing balm from Hinata. Shikamaru was already healed completely from the Kyubi. Just as they finished treating Ino on sight a voice came over the bridge.

"Well looks like Zabuza and that bastard kid who broke my arm are dead. It sucks that in the end they failed, but at least I don't have to pay them now, and they weakened you shinobi up for these guys," Gatoh said as he motioned to the mob of thugs behind him. Kakashi and his team, well those that could move, got into fighting stance. They were interrupted when an arrow from the crossbow of Tazuna's grandson landed in front of the henchmen. They all looked back at the mob of villagers that was easily double the size of Gatoh's group of petty thugs. Upon seeing this the thugs wavered and ran leaving a defenseless Gatoh behind to deal with two shinobi and a mob of villagers. In the end the villagers took him into custody and he was sentenced to be executed for crimes against the Wave. The shinobi left to return to the Leaf their mission being completed.

After returning to Konoha without further incident the trio were left to their own devises, as Kakashi had to deliver the mission report. They started walking through the streets making idle chitchat as they went. They passed the Ichikaru Ramen bar and saw none other than Uzumaki Naruto come out.

"Hey Shikamaru, Ino, Hinata," he said. "Iheard you guys just got back from a mission, how was it?"

"It was too troublesome," Shikamaru answered.

"Yeah, what started out as a Crank mission became at least a B rank one," Ino confirmed Shikamaru idly looked back at Hinata and saw that all of the confidence that she gained from their mission was all of a sudden absent. She was looking at the ground twiddling her fingers in what could only be explained as a nervous defense mechanism. Shikamaru smirked seeing what was happening realized that it was Naruto's presence that was doing this to her. He suspected that she might like the dense blond, and this just confirmed it.

"A B rank mission! That's amazing. You guys must be strong in order to pull that off. I don't know if our team could do that yet," the last part more of a question to himself as opposed to a statement to the other three shinobi.

"I… I'm s-sure that you c-could N-Naruto-kun," Hinata managed to get out with much effort.

"I'm not so sure Hinata. I mean sure we're strong, but our teamwork is sorely lacking. Sasuke always wants to do things his way and by himself, and is always an arrogant bastard. And while I sort of work well with Sakura in a pinch, she always wants to work with Sasuke who as I said before doesn't want to work with anyone. Plus, while she is smart, she is pretty weak. She would be better learning genjutsu because of her excellent control, but Asuma-Sensei isn't that great at teaching genjutsu," Naruto explained. "Anyway I got to go. I'll see you guys later." He finished as he ran off. As he left Hinata stopped twiddling her fingers and looked up.

"Ino, why don't you go on ahead. Ineed to talk to Hinata about something," Shikamaru requested.

"Umm… Okay, I'll see you in a few," she said with some confusion present in her voice as she left.

"Hinata," Shikamaru started, not knowing how to say what he wanted. He decieded to just be blunt. "You like Naruto don't you." Hinata's eyes went huge and again she lost all confidence.

"H-How did you know?" Hinata stammered.

"It's pretty obvious. You lose all of the confidence that you gained on the mission when you see him, or I even mention him to you," Shikamaru said. "I am your teammate and friend. You can tell me and I won't spread it around. I may even be able to help."

"How w-would you be able to h-help m-me?" she asked confused.

"Well Ino is, or was friends with Sakura, Naruto's teammate. We may be able to set up something or other to get him to notice you more. First though, it looks like we'll have to build up your confidence again." Shikamaru offered.

"Y-you would d-do that for m-me?" she asked.

"Of course, what are friends for," Shikamaru finished with a smile. "well we'll talk more about this later okay?" He started walking in the direction of his apartment.

"Sh-shikamaru," she called.

"Yes?" he asked lookin g over his shoulder.

"Thank you," she responded with no stutter.

"You're welcome Hinata, see ya," he said

"Good bye," she responded.

While Shikamaru was talking to Hinata, Ino went quickly back to his apartment. When she got their though she saw something that she didn't expect. Her father was their waiting for her. She turned and was about to run when he spoke.

"Ino, wait, please," he asked. She stopped hearing the concern in his voice. "I mean no hostility. I only want to understand. I want to why you chose that mons… child over the family that has cared for you for so long." Ino was at a loss for words. She had never heard her father talk like this, with this much concern. She just nodded and opened the door to the apartment. They went inside and she motioned for him to sit in one of the chairs while she sat in the other. An uncomfortable silence followed, which Inoichi felt he should break.

"What can you tell me about him? Is he different then we've been led to believe?" he asked.

"Yes, everyone seems to think that he is the demon that is sealed inside of him. He isn't. he is actually a kind hearted person. He will do anyting for those few people that he cares about. As far as I know, however, that's limited to about three people," she said kind of sadly.

"Who are those three people?" Inoichi asked.

"The Sandaime, our teammate Hinata, and me. Me probably more so than the others, because… well he's my…" she said trying to say what she wanted before someone said it for her.

"Because she is my girlfriend," Shikamaru said from the door. "She is the most important person in my life and I would do anything for her, and I mean anything."

"What about the Fox?" Inoichi asked.

"The fox and I have a mutual relationship. He can talk to me to give me advice, he can enhance my body, for example he gave me the shadow sight bloodline limit, and I can use his chakra so I have a near limitless amount. Unfortunatly, I can't tap into it at will yet. I have to be in a very dire situation, or be extremely emotional. When I use allot of his chakra his instincts also become stronger and tend to alter me psyche a little making me more aggressive than I normally am."

"Isn't having the foxes instincts influence you like that dangerous?" Inoichi asked concerned.

"Only to those who threaten or hurt me or the ones I care about. The first and only time that this transformation has happened was on our previous mission. I thought that that bastard Haku killed Ino and I flipped out. I went from being on the defensive the entire fight to dominating the fight completely. I ended the fight by killing my opponent without hesitation. Had the Kyubi's instincts not been guiding my behavior, I would have hesitated as it was my first kill, and that could have resulted in either the enemy escaping, or even my death," Shikamaru explained. There was a short silence before Inoichi spoke again.

"I need to think all of this over. I admit that I have done you a grave injustice these past 12 years. I am not going to force Ino to come back yet as her mother still doesn't understand as I now do. She wants me to drag you back by your hair if necessary. She still sees you as the Kyubi no Kitsune. It will take time to convince her otherwise if she ever changes. So even though it is against my parental instincts, I will let you stay here at your "boyfriend's" place. I believe it is the best solution for all parties involved." He finished rising from his seat.

"Thank you for understanding daddy," Ino said. He smiled at her and left.

"So… now that is over, how would you like to play matchmaker?" Shikamaru asked with a smirk on his face. Ino just stared at him with a very confused look.

A/N: okay again I am very sorry this is so late, but I've had allot on my plate lately. I have already started the next chapter so it should be out with a considerably shorter interim. As always please review to let me know how I did. Upcoming events in the next chapter: Chunnin exam, Orochimaru, and Ino playing matchmaker.


End file.
